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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27562240">The Saga of the Scholar-Prince</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikawritesthings/pseuds/Hamlet%20D%20Tusk'>Hamlet D Tusk (mikawritesthings)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bratting, Drabble Collection, Dragon/Human Relationships, Dragons, Friend Inserts, Gender non-conformity, Human/Monster Romance, Lesbian Feelings, Other, Royal Drama, Smut with worldbuilding, brat taming, fairytale inspired, in fact this started as a one shot and turned into worldbuilding, shameless self-insert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,357</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27562240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikawritesthings/pseuds/Hamlet%20D%20Tusk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of vignettes &amp; drabbles from a fantasy setting that began as a fun kinky little one-off smutfic, then rapidly got out of hand.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/ Original Nonbinary Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Prince(ss)'s Tower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Storming the castle was a lot more difficult than you expected it to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, scratch that. You’re a gods-damned dragon. Even at your tender age of ninety-nine winters, your true form was already the length of a dozen draft horses. Your wingspan was enough to cast a dramatic shadow over an entire neighborhood. Hells, even your horns-- short as they were-- were beginning to branch into a fearsome rack of antlers. Your mere presence at the castle, in all your silvery resplendence, was enough to make the guards at the gate soil themselves in fear. Toppling their ranks with a well-timed fiery breath, knocking the archers down from their turrets, and perching on top of the highest tower was all </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>easy. You roared and spread your wings over it, blasting another bolt of fire from your fearsome maw in a display of power worthy of an Ancient claiming their territory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In hindsight, that was one hell of a risky move. An Ancient would have dwarfed the tower, but it was less of a perch for you and more of a slightly-too-small platform. It was fortunate that this particular kingdom had little experience with dragons. Else, they might have brought out the trebuchets and palace mages, aimed some anti-dragon fodder at the inside of your mouth, and brushed it off as a particularly bad Tuesday. But you’re a clever lizard, and you’d planned ahead for this milestone. You had eyes on this mark months in advance: the kingdom, the castle, the tower, and--most importantly--the princess locked away inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that you’d captured the tower, you needed to get a better look at its cloistered inhabitant. You spied the window of its topmost room, smashing it with a single blow from your elegant tail. Snake-like, you stretched your neck downwards through the new opening. A few shards of broken glass remained to unhelpfully scratch at your armored scales.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside was the pinkest, plushest bedroom you’d ever seen. Colorful drapings and tapestries hung from every wall; a few more of them lined the floor. Books and scrolls lay strewn about the place, as if they’d been set down for a moment and immediately forgotten. Perched atop the bed, amid piles of blankets and pillows, book in hand, was…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, you wouldn’t exactly call them a </span>
  <em>
    <span>princess</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Though they had clothes gaudy enough to lure an entire flock of magpies, and a face pretty enough to win a whole kingdom’s worth of suitors, their type of clothes was closer to what you’d seen on the king than anything your average princess might wear. Even the dirty-blond hair atop their head was cropped short. They were a strange, androgynous creature in a royal shape. It seemed to take them a second to register that your toothy head was poking through the remains of their window. But when they did, they gave you a pointed glare over the rims of their half-moon glasses, one that contained far more irritation than fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you mind?” they asked. “I’m trying to read.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You were more than a little stunned. Not only was this not the swooning maiden you’d expected, they weren’t fazed by your presence at all. Was this </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>princess-kidnapping stuff? You cursed yourself for not asking an Ancient beforehand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To hell with it. If your small, squishy hostage wanted to sass you, you’d sass them right back. “And I’m trying to kidnap you,” you answered with a rumble. Your dragon-accent was glaringly present around the edges; forming all the vowels and consonants of human languages was harder than it sounded, especially with carnivorous teeth in canine jaws.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They rolled their eyes. “You’re not going to get much done by spiriting me off to some cave. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re doing this to gain some </span>
  <em>
    <span>political </span>
  </em>
  <span>advantage, because if you’re trying to find yourself a bride…” At this, they gave you another pointed look. “Let’s just say I’m more into the womenfolk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At this, you protested. “I’m not here for romance,” you said. “And even if I were, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>a woman.” You suddenly felt a need to prove yourself to this genderless scholar-prince, though you weren’t sure why. Summoning the magic deep within your heart of hearts, you transformed yourself from a magnificent wyrm with her head in the prince’s chambers to a much smaller, much squishier humanoid form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Your humanoid self, though certainly not as trouser-soilingly intimidating as your draconic self, was undoubtedly still a sight for the prince to behold. Towering over the prince, your skin still a vaguely iridescent grey, your cheekbones dotted with a few stubborn scales… All this, plus the lack of clothing on your human body, brought a pink flush to their milky-white cheeks, though they didn’t comment. It struck you how much you relished the look on their face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a pause that was just a beat too long, the prince hopped off their bed and began digging around their room for something. They retrieved a red leatherbound tome from underneath their bed, then returned to their seat with a motion for you to sit next to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince snapped the book open to a detailed map; you guessed it was of the continent. “Here,” they said, pointing to a tiny country wedged in near the northern sea. “This is us, right? Our kingdom is small, and tends to mostly keep to itself, so you can’t exactly disappear me and make it look like some assassin from the Masked Territories did it. That’ll get people too suspicious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>smart,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” you muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince looked over at you for just a second, before quickly redirecting their gaze to the page. You realized that their eyes were an unnatural grassy green, an unmistakable candy-color that only a mage would have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Otherwise,” the prince continued, “holding </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>hostage in particular wouldn’t do much of anything. I’m not an heir to the throne; that honor falls to my brother, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>already married. You’d chain me to a rock or something, a knight in shining armor would slay you--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You scoffed. “I don’t think a little boy wearing some tin cans and a paring knife is going to kill me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, then, </span>
  <em>
    <span>vanquish</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.” A half-smile was beginning to tug at the prince’s lips, though they were trying to stifle it. They closed the book and lightly tossed it into your lap. “My point is, I’ve got a better idea for you than just carrying me back to your lair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A better idea?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince flopped backward on the bed, to a fully reclined position. “Keep me here, and hold the entire castle hostage. Stake your claim over it, and more importantly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That flush was returning to the prince’s face as they undid a single button on their tunic, though their expression remained stony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take me. Here and now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You rested your hand ever-so-gently on the soft, warm flesh of their collarbone. What you’d been doing up until now was risky, but this? This was outright reckless. If you failed, the Ancients would never let you hear the end of it. But if you succeeded… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, </span>
  <em>
    <span>your highness,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” you said, and grabbed a handful of the prince’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince gasped with pleasure as you, gentle but firm, tugged their head backwards to further expose their neck. You bit down as gently as you could, then a shade harder when they shivered beneath your (regrettably humanoid at the moment) jaws. The bite turned into a nuzzle, which you moved up their jawline and to their mouth. You kissed them properly, and they returned the kiss with a surprising amount of eagerness. “More,” they whimpered against your lips. With a little irritation, you realized their glasses were getting in the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You pulled back from their hungry face. “Take your glasses off,” you told them. It occurred to you that they might have never been </span>
  <em>
    <span>ordered</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do something. Not the same way you were ordering them, at least. And certainly not in the deeply draconic tone of voice you were using. A strange look entered their emerald-colored eyes when they picked up on your attempt at a domme voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>like it?” they asked with a note of amusement. “I’m just a delicate little prince, and you’re such a big, strong dragon. What if I just want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie </span>
  </em>
  <span>here while you have your way with me?” They clearly knew your expectations, and were testing them to see how you reacted. To see if you’d punish them. Good; you found yourself liking it. You’d play their game.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said,” you began to growl, “take your glasses </span>
  <em>
    <span>off.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” The prince begrudgingly obliged, placing their glasses on the edge of their night stand and allowing them to fall to the floor. They brought their arms around your waist, running their hands over your (still scale-lined) back. That mage-green gaze scanned up and down your body, with a strange combination of academic interest and lust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see you eyeing me up,” you said. “Shouldn’t I be the one studying </span>
  <em>
    <span>you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you’re a dragon,” came their reply. “In my cloistered little life, I’ve never met one in the flesh before. Especially not in </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of flesh.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a groan, you said, “You human mages are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Even so, you lowered back down to their mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their lips locked with yours again; this time their tongue, strange and mammalian as it was, joined in. You returned the favor, and found yourself beginning to wedge your pelvis between their parting legs. Your blood was running unseasonably warm along with theirs; you practically felt the arousal in their vulva as their moans grew faster and more breathless. With more effort than they likely wanted to exert, the prince pulled back from you. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want it,” they said. A strange whine, half-playful and half-desperate, was running under their voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want?” you asked them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pouted at you. “On my pussy. I want your mouth on it. I want your tongue--” they whimpered as you caressed their throat-- “inside me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Say </span>
  <em>
    <span>please,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” you ordered on instinct.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They smirked a smug little grin. “Make me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You closed your hand a shade tighter around their throat, raising a pleasured moan from their lips. “Scholar-prince.” Remnants of a draconic growl were still in your voice, which only served to arouse them further. “You think you’re such a clever little morsel, don’t you? But I see your heart. No amount of wit can hide what you really are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What… what am I?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A spoiled. Little. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Brat.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince was already unfastening their belt, dropping their trousers below their knees. You trailed kisses along their jawline and neck before lowering to their groin. Their pussy was already wet from all your foreplay, which brought you a grim satisfaction as you slid your long reptilian tongue inside. Back and forth you teased them, feeling them alternately curl and relax, shuddering around you when--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They came. Jism squirted from them in a sudden burst, wetting the covers around them. They sighed with satisfaction, whispered something that might have been “thank you”. A silence settled over you both. Calm after the storm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After wordlessly returning their trousers to their former position, the prince looked over to their shattered window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should probably do something about that.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A further dive into the politics and dramatis personae of the Kingdom.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shortly after what you thought was a draconic display of power guaranteed to shake an entire kingdom from the top down, you found yourself in human form (a mere bipedal six feet tall), wearing a gown (for public nudity is apparently frowned upon among many humans), facing down a deeply disappointed King and Queen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not that there wasn’t a string of events leading up to this. Gossip spreads quickly among nobles, especially when a dragon has recently been sighted disappearing into the prince’s bedchamber. Within mere hours of your little escapade, everyone in the palace from the kitchen-rats to Their Majesties themselves knew that the kingdom’s beloved daughter had been ravished by a dread wyrm. Needless to say, you caused quite the stir.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>among the nobles-in-waiting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As it turns out, the prince stuck to the tradition of marriage-aged princesses keeping ladies-in-waiting, even long after they realized they were no longer much of a girl. Few of them were technically girls themselves, hence the more gender-neutral catch-all. Pleasantly unorthodox? Sure. Irritating? Somewhat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Impossible </span>
  </em>
  <span>to avoid? Most definitely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Under-Duchess Zvoruna was the first to spot you. She pranced into the prince’s room like a cantering show pony not an hour after the prince re-donned their clothes. Her chest was puffed out, amber-brown eyes burning with protective instinct, decorative epee at the ready with flawless </span>
  <em>
    <span>en garde </span>
  </em>
  <span>form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stay away from Their Highness, you glorified lizard!” she shouted with all the boldness of a proper knight. A gust of wind billowed through her impressive mane of ringlets and her voluminous red skirts, as if to emphasize her point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scholar-prince was up from their prone position to stop her almost immediately. They held up a hand, half-defensive and half-diplomatic. “Zvoruna, darling, it’s alright! She’s with me!” They emphasized this by gently squishing the Duchess’s cheeks between their palms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Confusion crossed her face, before morphing into shock, then into a strange, smug glee as she took notice of your position in the prince’s bed. “Did you two…” She trailed off, looking back from the prince to you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All the prince had to do was nod.</span>
</p>
<p><span>Zvoruna’s smug glee bubbled over into reckless, explosive joy. She dropped the sword, instead wrapping the prince in an embrace so tight you swore you heard something crack. “This is too </span><em><span>exciting!” </span></em><span>she said when she finally allowed them to come up for air. “You’ve got a </span><em><span>suitor! </span></em><span>Or a mistress, rather?</span> <span>Oh, but think of the changes this will bring! The calamity! The </span><em><span>scandal. </span></em><span>The--”</span></p>
<p>
  <span>She suddenly stepped back. “What are you going to tell Their Majesties?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince looked backward to you. “If it so pleases you…” Their gaze returned to Zvoruna. “I think it’s only proper to introduce them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Duchess looked you over, then. No small amount of aesthetic admiration was on her face, but she clearly had a purpose in mind. She put her hands on her hips, and nodded to herself. “We’ll be needing to get you some new clothes,” she declared, addressing you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>More nobles-in-waiting soon emerged to fuss over you. The Baron Carmilla found a black-and-white dress that suited your silver complexion perfectly, though they refused to tell you whose wardrobe they’d dug it from. The thing was disappointingly unadorned, and no sooner had you commented on how you might like a few more spangles did the Lord Muninn materialize to sew a few jaunty little bells onto the neckline. The Counts Freyr and Balder were present as well, though their participation mostly amounted to congratulating Their Highness on finding a suitor such as yourself. That evening, when you could barely stand from the exhaustion of being so thoroughly obsessed over by these humans, Lady Ophelia practically dragged you to a spare room to try to get a hot minute of actual rest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Next morning would be a big one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You and the prince walked arm-in-arm to the throne room. Bystanders and onlookers were everywhere in the halls, quite a few of them gawking at the horns and scales that you still thoroughly refused to shed. One particular noblewoman gave you an especially mean-spirited glare. You responded by baring your teeth. The prince grinned a brilliant half-grin at this shameless defensiveness, walking a tad closer to you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where have you been all my life?” they sighed into your ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You were more than a little taken aback. That was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>romantic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>romantic,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” you said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m only a brat in the bedroom. Elsewhere, I think you’ll find me </span>
  <em>
    <span>exceptionally </span>
  </em>
  <span>civil.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t very civil to me last night.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because you had your head through the remains of my window.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You couldn’t think of a banter-worthy response to that, so you just sighed. “That’s fair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a pause while the prince pursed their lips in thought. “Our family is… unconventional, especially considering the usual expectations from other kingdoms.” They looked you in the eye, with that same calculating owlishness that they demonstrated last night. “I suppose you’ll need to be briefed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>How</span>
  </em>
  <span> unconventional, exactly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a perfect deadpan, they answered, “His Majesty isn’t my biological father, for starters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They cackled at your stunned expression. The amusement was enough to physically bend them over at the midsection. It took them a second just to recover.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax, dragon,” they said, still wheezing a bit. “It’s not exactly some royal secret. Theirs was a marriage of political convenience. Both the Queen and the King have romantic consorts of their own, who are themselves like respective fathers to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why tell me this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince made a face that was very clearly on the edge of rolling their eyes. “Because he looks almost nothing like me-- same goes for my brother. And when we neglect to inform people of this, then they start to wildly speculate that His Majesty is-- </span>
  <em>
    <span>gasp!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>They actually enunciated the word “gasp”. “--Some kind of cuckold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you just call your own father a cuckold?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I did. The other thing you need to know is that nearly all nobles-- as well as quite a few civilians-- here go by some kind of alias. That’s both a tradition and a security measure here. Names have power, and only family members reveal true names to each other.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That explains why you haven’t asked my name yet. Or given me </span>
  <em>
    <span>yours.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The prince stopped mid-step, and turned towards you with practiced, courtly precision. “I will not give you my name,” they said with a theatrical diction that’d obviously been rehearsed countless times, “but you may address me as Their Highness Dante, the Younger Scholar-Prince of the Kingdom of Elsinore.” A sharp bow punctuated the sentence like a period. “And what might I call you, fearsome and resplendent wyrm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now this was a question you could answer. “Your Highness may address me by the name of Žaobaj, tower-ender, earth-shaker, scourge of Elsinore.” You accentuated that last word with the most potent growl you could muster in this unfortunately short throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dante kissed your hand. “A lovely title,” they murmured against your skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They returned to their normal demeanor and your side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are your </span>
  <em>
    <span>parents’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>aliases?” you asked out of curiosity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Her Majesty Wise Hecate, the Witch-Queen of the Kingdom of Elsinore; and His Majesty Gentle Charon, the Ferryman-King of the Kingdom of Elsinore. Respectively.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And your brother?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“His Highness Virgil, the Elder Healer-Prince of the Kingdom of Elsinore. We’re here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair of you arrived at the massive oaken door to the throne room, before which stood a pair of guards in rune-engraved suits of armor. Looking closer, you realized there were no humans within; the guards </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>the armor. A neat little human trick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dante nodded, and the guards mechanically stepped aside. It hit you that the doors, which your jewel-loving sensibilities had thought unadorned, were in fact engraved with similar runes to those on the guards. They lit up in an array of rainbow colors, autonomously parting before you with a dramatic groan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even at your current scale, you were surprised by how small the throne room was. The architecture of the place was undoubtedly grand, its ceiling high enough to comfortably fit your true form. But much floor space was occupied: with actual furniture, with sculptures and columns and enough plant life to fill a greenhouse. This was a throne room that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, you were before the royals themselves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Queen Hecate was just as regal and maternal a presence as you had imagined. She looked not unlike an aged-up version of your prince, albeit much plumper and more feminine in shape. Though her face was much like Dante’s, age had etched stern lines around her mouth and beneath her eyes. Waves of silvery-chestnut hair spilled loosely over her shoulders. You could see where Dante got their fashion tastes, at least; the queen was dressed in an elaborately decorated mother-of-pearl gown, its prismatic colors undoubtedly helped along by a healthy dose of magic. Surprisingly enough, her crown was just a simple diadem in a shimmering lavender that matched her dress.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You then turned to the king. It was immediately apparent what the prince meant when they said the ferryman-king looked nothing like them. Where Prince Dante was small and pale, King Charon was tall and dark. Where the prince was gnomish and prickly, he was elegant and gentle. His clothes were much more subdued in color than those of his “wife” and “daughter”, though he was still very well-dressed indeed. Like the Queen, he also wore a simple crown. An aura of both paternal gentleness and strange, implacable dread radiated off of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some low, steady beat was thundering off in the distance. It was almost too loud to hear the herald announcing your presence to Their Majesties. You realized, perhaps slightly too late, that it was your heartbeat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The queen was the first to speak. “After two and a half centuries of our idyllic little kingdom not facing a single draconic threat,” she said, her diction and voice just as regal as the rest of her, “the record has been broken by our current guest.” Her tone was level, but her voice carried throughout the entire room. Perhaps it echoed through the rest of the castle as well. The pendant at her throat glowed with a bright rosy color: an amplification spell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As a witch,” she continued, “I am honored and impressed to have your presence in our kingdom; some say dragons were the first mages. As the </span>
  <em>
    <span>queen, </span>
  </em>
  <span>however…” The queen steepled her fingers and gave you a stern </span>
  <em>
    <span>look. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You could tell where your prince got it from. “What is your end goal, dragon? If it is political upheaval, I daresay you have failed. Every leader in this castle remains distinctly alive. The same is true for our royal guard, including those you knocked from the tower and attempted to mow down with fire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your Majesty…” Dante began, but stopped themself to allow the witch-queen to continue speaking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The queen glanced over at them and mouthed the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>“wait” </span>
  </em>
  <span>before returning her gaze to you. “If it is conquest, you have undoubtedly failed in that regard, too, for much the same reasons. But if your end goal is the Scholar-Prince…” She leaned back slightly, and sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Majesty…” Dante again said, and again received a similar mouthed </span>
  <em>
    <span>“wait”</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Queen Hecate pursed her lips in thought. “It is often traditional for dragons to attempt to gain political leverage via the kidnapping of a princess. Less traditional is this action’s softer equivalent, which you seem to have done: cause some hospitalizations among our guards, smash a priceless stained glass window, and enter the prince’s chamber to--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mother!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> said the now-flushed prince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dante,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>their mother replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I might interject,” said the king. This sent a hush over the throne room. Both queen and prince stopped to turn towards him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His Majesty’s voice was far softer than you had imagined, with a gentle tone that matched his overall presence. It was equally amplified as the Queen’s, though, which resulted in an almost-eerie disconnect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe,” he said, his face diplomatically neutral all the while, “we should let the dragon speak for herself.” You breathed a sigh that would have been one of relief, were you not internally panicking at the swift realization that you now had to speak. You gulped, took a deep breath, and gathered your human words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is a tradition among dragonkind,” you began, “for the boldest among us to prove our worth by causing chaos among human royalty. It may take the form of storming the castle or destroying the capital city, but… the most daring of us will try to kidnap a princess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dante patted you on the shoulder, and continued your speech: “I reasoned with her that, because we have never </span>
  <em>
    <span>been </span>
  </em>
  <span>conventional people, it might be wiser to gain this power in a more subtle way. To stay in the castle with me rather than spiriting me away, and to gain a foothold in the kingdom of Elsinore by--” A sudden understanding passed between the two of you; Dante grabbed your hand and gently squeezed it. “--By marrying me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A rumble went through the crowds of people in the throne room. The few words that you could parse were mostly just repeats of </span>
  <em>
    <span>“WHAT?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The king blinked. He pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something to himself. The queen shook with what you quickly realized was restrained laughter. She looked over her shoulder at her “husband,” who mouthed something at her that you couldn’t parse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You looked to your prince. There was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>cocky smirk on their face, and your public-speaking-induced nervousness mixed in your belly with good old brat-tamer rage. “If you don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you’re doing,” you hissed in their ear, “I am going to punish the royal daylights out of you the </span>
  <em>
    <span>second </span>
  </em>
  <span>we get some Gods-damned privacy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what I’m doing, love,” the prince said, “but I’d like to see you try and punish me. Just in case.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Queen Hecate looked back at you. There was a distinctly witchy twinkle in her eyes, the irises of which you only just now realized were prismatic with every color of magic. Almost imperceptibly, she winked at you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then it is settled,” Her Majesty boomed in her regal voice. Another murmur of shock went through the crowd, this one more potent. Along with a lot of “what”, there was a bit of “no” and a decent amount of cursing; you swore you could make out the sound of someone just screaming at the top of their lungs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without any amplification, above the chaos, you heard the Queen project a message into your ear: “Welcome to the family.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading whatever the hell this is. It might gain some more chapters, as my whims take me.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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